The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father
With a pair of trainee Psi Cops in tow, Bester pursues a murderous rogue telepath to Babylon 5. Cast Regular *Bruce Boxleitner as President John Sheridan *Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi *Mira Furlan as Ambassador Delenn *Richard Biggs as Dr. Stephen Franklin *Bill Mumy as Lennier *Tracy Scoggins as Captain Elizabeth Lochley *Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto *Jeff Conaway as Security Chief Zack Allan *Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander *Peter Jurasik as Ambassador Londo Mollari *Andreas Katsulas as Ambassador G'Kar Guest Starring *Dana Barron as Lauren Ashley *Mike Genovese as Drake *Reggie Lee as Chen Hikaru *Vince Riotta as Bryce *Dex Elliot Sanders as Jonathan Harris Special Guest Star *Walter Koenig as Bester Co-Starring *Brendan Ford as Gordon *Don McMillan as Bartender *Jeremy Thomas as Man Featuring *Michael Max Charles Ciano as Roommate *Michael Jeffrie Stanto as Dealer Cast Notes * This episode marks the last onscreen appearance of Bester, played by Walter Koenig. He was intended to reappear in the ''Crusade'''' ''episode "Value Judgements" but the series was cancelled before the episode was even filmed. * Stephen Franklin and Zack Allan are the only regular characters to appear in this episode. Summary Introduction At Psi Corps Headquarters, Alfred Bester meets a director, Drake, to meet two interns, Lauren Ashley and Chen Hikaru who are very excited to meet Bester. The man wants to have them tag along with him. Bester is happy to have them, and also notes a report about the Babylon 5 situation is ready. As they head down the hallway, Hikaru also asks him about the B5 situation and Bester notes a few general thoughts about the station. Meanwhile, a less-than-stable telepath finds a pamphlet about B5 and heads there, just after having killed someone. Act I At headquarters, Bester and the interns walk into a room to observe two telepaths undergoing an exercise to trade deep scan attacks. The interns observe more closely and feel the attacks in their minds. Bester assures them they get used to it. After leaving the room, Bester notes one must be a certain kind of person to be a Psi Cop in addition to be a P12. Not only ruthless, but also sympathetic since they are family. In another room, Bester shows them a testimonial program from a telepath named Gordon. Bester gets a message during and cuts off the program. The murderer's victim has been found. The killer was a student of his, and something must have gone wrong with his training. He consoles the victim's companion before he goes. That night, Bester is in his quarters when Ashley visits him. She is disturbed by the dead body and asks if it gets easier. Bester says it does not, except with "mundanes." She asks about Bester's youth, and he tells his story. Ashley is taken with him, and suggests staying the night, but Bester politely declines, saying his "heart is taken." After she leaves, Drake arrives with news: the killer is en route to B5. Act II Drake leads a briefing on the killer, Jonathan Harris. They cannot trust EA forces, and they insist that they must go themselves to "take care of their own." After the briefing, Drake informs Bester he was trained in attack probes, with a knack for disrupting other telepaths – a "mind shredder." Later, Bester dwells on a photo of Harris and prepares himself. Hikaru interrupts to remind him that the transport is ready. Meanwhile, Bester and the interns leave from the Psi Corps mothership to the hyperspace jumpgate. In B5's Downbelow, Harris meanders to a gambling table and is excited to play a game, openly admitting he does not know the rules. Soon, however, he ends up winning a fair amount from the others, to their frustration. Harris is later intercepted and attacked by the loser, convinced he was cheating. He pushes Harris, and Harris seems to get overcome with something and telepathically kills the man violently. He walks away calmly, with one witness having seen it. Act III Bester gets some information from a Drazi who admits he gave Harris a fake identicard. Bester pulled the real location of his quarters from his mind and informs the interns. He goes to inform B5 security while the two wait. While he is gone, Hikaru gets an idea and uses a device to try to get into the quarters, with Ashley objecting the whole time. The door opens, and Hikaru, convinced he is showing ambition, enters the dark room and trips – right next to a dead body. Security is all over the room, and Allan takes the opportunity to note to Bester that there is already a dead body during his visit. The body has been dead for two days, however, and it looks like Harris used the dead man's ID afterwards. Bester supposes it was a random killing so he could take the money and another ID. Ashley notes that it takes more than scanning to be good at gambling. Bester now thinks he pulled the gambling information out of him before he died. Allan then informs them another body was found. There, Stephen Franklin informs Bester that multiple internal injuries seemed to have occurred at once, and it is likely the telepath is to blame. Bester dismisses it, saying that only a P12 or higher could do that. Franklin supposes there was a mistake in his testing, and Bester smugly dismisses that and Franklin's reaction. However, after the trio leave MebLab Bester knows the situation is dangerous. He sends Ashley to keep tabs on everything security finds in Harris' quarters, and sends Hikaru to keep tabs on any other place gambling is allowed other than the casino. Hikaru enters one establishment and engages the barkeeper when he sees Harris. He tries to make a call to Bester when a man – the witness from before – attacks and kills him. Act IV Allan informs Bester of the killing. It was caught on camera, but only a light-skinned and tattooed hand was captured. Another killer is now in the mix. Harris, meanwhile, is talking to the other killer, Bryce, in a new a collaboration between them. The man is happy with the arrangement, but Harris notes he only wants enough money to leave and get far away. The man engages him about what he wants, and Harris admits he does not know why but he needs to get far away. Harris turns to the next opportunity for more money. Bester is confused by the papers found in Harris' quarters, seemingly written by two people. Ashley also obtained a recording from Harris and his roommate training. During, Harris freaks out suddenly and yells at his roommate, referring to him in the third person. Bester then deduces the two "people" is really one with multiple personalities, one P10, one P12. The other personality must have killed the roommate to keep the secret since unstable telepaths are institutionalized or worse; "Put away for the good of everyone." Ashley goes to check on any bookings on transports. It is enough to find the two, and Allan and security intercept them. Bester and Ashley come around another corner and Bester tries to convince Harris to come with them. Harris refuses, and Ashley maneuvers around drawing a shot from Bryce. Bester dives to protect her and Bryce is shot by security. Harris, oddly, collapses on his own, muttering to himself, and is arrested. Act V Bester gets treated by Franklin and desires to leave early, despite a hefty wound. Ashley reports security agreed to submit the sedated prisoners to their custody. On the ride home, Ashley notes she had never seen anyone else fight for their kind like she saw Bester fight. Bester notes it is not necessarily a good thing sometimes. She then mentions dealing with the mundane, and Bester allows her to do so. She ejects Bryce into hyperspace. Memorable Quotes Notes * The entire episode is presented from the perspective of the Psi Corps. Even the opening is altered slightly to reflect this, with the Babylon 5 title replaced with a Psi Corps logo and the words "Trust the Corps" (the Babylon 5 logo is instead placed at the end of the opening). It is the second alternate-perspective episode in the season (after "A View from the Gallery"). DVD Release This episode, along with the other 21 from Season 5 have been released on DVD with extensive Special Features. External links * Category:Babylon 5 episodes Category:Babylon 5 Season 5 episodes